SANTA CRUZ -- Sheriff Phil Wowak signaled Tuesday he would go out fighting to put more deputies on the roads, telling the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors that crime is starting to creep up and its time to start rebuilding the department's depleted ranks.

Wowak, who announced last week he would not seek re-election this year, said he wants to hire seven new personnel at the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, resulting in more deputies to fill out depleted beats and bolster patrols in large sections of the county that now go unattended at times. But the county's top administrator warned that after years of budget woes, there still isn't enough money to pay for everything the county needs, including social services, road repairs and underfunded parks.

"I think we've reached a point where we agree to disagree," Wowak said, with county budget deliberations still months away. "We're just probably not at a point where we're going to come to you with a joint presentation."

Chief Administrative Officer Susan Mauriello said the county still has a multimillion-dollar projected budget deficit, including more than $5 million in added spending by eliminating worker furloughs in place since the economic recession cratered county finances. While county revenues are going up again, she said the department's request for new personnel is a tall order in the face of other demands, a strong suggestion that she may not recommend funding every hire Wowak seeks.

"I think the challenge the board is going to have is to make this all work," Mauriello said.

Public safety consumes most of the county's discretionary spending, and department heads have been under intense pressure in recent years to cut spending, while accommodating built-in cost increases for employee salaries and benefits. Some of that pressure is beginning to ease, but the county is still looking for ways to increase revenues, including a June vote on a modest parcel tax to pay for parks maintenance.

The Sheriff's Office is responsible for patrolling 421 square miles with 165 sworn officers, though about two dozen of those positions are unfilled. Deputies are responsible for court security, investigations, administration and more. Wowak wants to hire three crime scene analysts to replace sworn deputies now doing that work, as well as add four new deputies, resulting in seven more on the street.

Crime in the unincorporated areas crept up in 2013, Wowak said, though he cautioned the increases were only incremental. But over a decade, the department's average response time to emergency calls has increased nearly a minute, an alarming statistic in an area where a few seconds can mean the difference between life and death.

Wowak said the rise is due to population increases, which have added to the demand on law enforcement services and increased traffic congestion, making it more difficult for emergency vehicles to get through. But he said another factor is persistent staffing shortfalls.